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Mallory Rinckey: Eating healthy on a different schedule

Mallory Rinckey, IC Columnist

A new year at school means new temptations for people trying to eat healthy. Everyone is getting accustomed to a new routine and that can mean changing your eating habits. It can be hard to eat healthy while on campus for various reasons — like not scheduling time for a lunch break, not being able to pack a healthy lunch to take to school or because of the lack of healthy choices on campus. I have found some helpful tips to consider while starting a new routine for this semester.

First of all, everyone needs to eat. This is important for healthy eating so make sure you bring a snack, a lunch or plan for it within your schedule. If you plan back-to-back classes for 3 courses, you are bound to get hungry between them. Make sure you at least bring a snack in your backpack or lunch box so you have something to eat between classes since there isn’t time to buy a meal. You can do more harm to your body by not eating for an extended period of time than you would if you just got some nutrients into your body.

Secondly, it can be a challenge to shop and plan for packing a lunch. Based on my personal experience, I would much rather pack a lunch the night before and just grab my lunch bag on my way out the door in the morning than to plan when and where I am going to eat on campus the next day. Plus, I don’t have to wait in the long first weeks of school food lines.

I know exactly what I am putting into my body and it is probably more fresh than what I would consume if I went somewhere on campus.

This is the season for fresh fruit markets, so I say use them until they are over because there is nothing that beats fresh produce. Come winter time you will miss the convenience of having cheap, fresh fruits.

My last bit of advice for eating healthy on campus is to know what kinds of food options are available on and around campus. Don’t limit yourself to going only to the student union just because that is what you are comfortable with. There are plenty of establishments on and around campus that are an easy walk or bike ride to that will give you a healthy lunch. Learn the environment that you are in and if you don’t particularly like the food around campus, prepare your own meals and bring them with you to class.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s website is a useful tool that can help you eat healthier and give tips for eating on a budget. The USDA combined with the Department of Health and Human Services are the ones who make recommendations how much of each category of food you should be eating in a day. “MyPlate” is an illustration that shows what portion of each type of food should be eaten in a meal. This illustration can be found at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/about.html. The “MyPlate” has replaced that food pyramid that I know many of us were taught in school.

I like the newer version better because they use a plate and glass to visualize what portions of food should take up space on your plate.

Mallory Rinckey is a fourth-year majoring in public health.

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